1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of gas supply controller systems. More particularly, this invention relates to apparatus and methods for supplying natural gas from a gas supply source to one or more gas-burning apparatus requiring two different gas pressure levels.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
Many types of apparatus require natural gas to make them operational. Most of these devices, however, do not always require a constant optimal gas pressure to make them function as intended, especially during periods when the particular apparatus are intended to remain idle. Gas furnaces, for example, are not required to operate when the ambient temperature has reached a certain elevated level. Similarly, gas-operated lamps are not required during hours of daylight. To conserve gas, then, various mechanisms have been developed to automatically reduce the amount of gas flowing from the gas supply source to the gas-burning apparatus during such idle periods.
The most common way to reduce the flow of gas to the apparatus is to couple it with some sort of switching mechanism, such as a thermostat or solar cell. This switching mechanism is typically used to engage a valve located between the gas supply source and the apparatus for the purpose of stopping or reducing the flow of gas to the apparatus at user-defined intervals. Often, a small bypass is also provided to supply minimally sufficient gas to support the pilot operations of the apparatus when the valve is engaged.
The problem with the switching mechanisms previously developed is that they are either configured to operate with only one gas-burning apparatus or designed to interrupt or supply the flow of gas abruptly. In the case of gas lamps, for example, all previously invented gas lamp dimmer systems have been limited to control a single gas lamp, with severe limitations being placed upon the size of the lamp. However, these limitations unnecessarily force the consumer (who is attempting to save money by reducing the gas consumption of the lamps) to purchase, install, adjust, and maintain an equal number of specially fitted gas lamps and dimmers. Also, the performance of the gas lamp itself may be diminished because the life of the mantles is often reduced through the sudden fluctuations of gas pressures experienced whenever the gas flow to the lamp is abruptly enabled or stopped. The mechanisms devised for gas lamps also suffer from the fact that they have been designed in many cases to leave the gas lamps they control bright during all hours of darkness. The reason for this is that a typical mechanism for conserving gas uses a dimmer switch activated by a photocell.
The present invention has several advantages over the switching mechanisms presently used for conserving gas. Specifically, the present invention places no limitation on the size or quantity of gas-burning apparatus employed. A plurality of gas lamps, for example, can be coupled to the present invention and will brighten and dim simultaneously to the same level of brightness with only a single adjustment made to the controller system described herein. Moreover, the adjustments made to the gas flow are gradual, as opposed to abrupt, making the change from one brightness level to another (in the case of gas lamps) gradual and much less detrimental to the life of the mantles. The present invention can also be programmed to supply gas (e.g., for brightening or dimming gas lamps) as often as needed during any 24-hour period. The ability to program the dimmer system allows the consumer to control the length of time gas lamps are bright and dim, thereby obviating the need for the gas lamps to remain bright during all hours of darkness.
A fundamental feature of an embodiment of the present invention is that it controls the amount of gas pressure supplied to the gas-burning apparatus through the use of regulators that sense the pressure on the gas line feeding natural gas to the coupled gas-burning apparatus. This is a marked difference between all known previously invented switching mechanisms, which merely control the operation of the coupled apparatus by simply restricting the flow of gas. In contrast to the present invention, these switching mechanisms do not sense or maintain a constant pressure.
The ability to regulate the gas pressure by sensing the pressure in the gas supply line enables the present invention to control a varying number of gas-burning apparatus without making adjustments to the dimmer system or changing components on the system. In order for the previously invented switching mechanisms to control multiple gas-burning apparatus, the size of the switching mechanism (e.g., the thermostat or dimmer) would have to be increased greatly and would have to be sized and configured for each application according to the number of apparatus to be controlled. This is a great disadvantage because the switching mechanism must be reconfigured anytime an apparatus is added to or removed from the system. This is not a problem with the present invention because it can easily adapt itself to increased or decreased loads. For the foregoing reasons, therefore, the present invention constitutes a significant advancement over the prior art.